By Moses Omorogieva
Lagos – Iuleha, a clan made up of 16 towns and villages in the Owan-West Local Council of Edo has appealed to the state’s Commissioner of Police (CP), for more police stations, to curtail emerging security challenges.
A Spokesman of the clan, Mr Edeki Aigbogun, made the appeal while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.
Aigbogun said that the current police station situated at Uzebba could no longer cope with the over 1.4 million people of the area, as enumerated at the last national census held in 2006.
He said that Uzebba alone as at time had over 365,000 people, adding that the station could now be upgraded to a Divisional Police Headquarters, to attract more personnel to the clan.
Aigbogun said that more police stations were needed for quick response, to stem breakdown of law and order because many crimes are now being committed in the community, without any quick response.
He said that the situation in the community had been worsened by poor telecommunication services, adding that none of the commercial banks had any branch in the clan.
According to him, on March 7, 1967, a Commission of Enquiry headed by Mr D.B. Patridge, which decided on where to site the divisional police headquarters, sat at Uzebba.
“Coincidentally, the Uzebba Police Station was opened that same year through the help of His Royal Highness, the Okumagbe of Iuleha, late Timothy Omo-Bare.
“Omo-Bare, a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), led the Nigerian delegation to the Aburi Conference on the Nigerian Civil War in Ghana in 1966,” he recalled.
According to Aigbogun, the current divisional headquarters in Sabongida Ora is about 15 kilometres from Uzebba and this is too far away for people of the community to obtain justice for cases above the jurisdiction of the Uzebba Police Station.
“The upgrade and establishment of more stations in the clan will not be out of place as many of the clan’s sons and daughters have served and are still serving in the force.
“Beside Omo-Bare, Mr Kayode Uanreroro, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) (rtd), who led the operations that arrested the notorious robbery king-pin, Lawrence Anini, and Mr Macaulay Ohikhuare, an ACP (rtd), among others, hail from the clan,” he added.